Universal Church of the Celestial Sun
The Universal Church of the Celestial Sun is an organized religion dedicated to the worship of a monotheistic God called the Pancreator, who the Universal Church teaches is represented by all the stars in all the galaxies of the universe, with these suns being the physical manifestation of the Pancreator. Many priests and monks of the Universal Church (but not all) are trained in the use of the Force. They are rivals of the Jedi. The Universal Church has several order of monks including the Hesychasts, the Temple Avesti (who during the time of the Galactic Empire served as inquisitors who violently purged Jedi), Sanctuary Aeon (an order of healers providing medical care), the Brother Battle (a paramilitary order of warrior monks), and the Eskatonic Order (a monastic order seeking scientific knowledge and delving into the Force in order to search for the Pancreator's truth). The backbone of the Universal Church is the Orthodoxy, the Church's regular, non-monastic priesthood. The Orthodox clergy are divided into ranks from novitiate (the lowest rank) to canon (second lowest) to deacon (above both novitiates and canons) to priest (above deacons but lower than bishops) to bishop to archbishop (usually in charge of an entire solar system) to metropolitan (an archbishop in charge of a group of archbishops) to the Church Patriarch (supreme head of the Church and residing on Coruscant). The Patriarch is aided by a Holy Synod of six bishops and six archbishops. At first only aimed at humans, by 10,000 BBY the Universal Church of the Celestial Sun was aimed at non-human races as well. Droids are not considered sentient beings worthy of the Pancreator's grace. The exact date of the foundation of the Universal Church is unknown (see early Coruscant history), but it is known to have been founded on the planet Coruscant before the time of the Rakata's Infinite Empire and the Galactic Republic. Zebulon the Prophet and Palamedes Alecto according to legends are the founders of the Church. During the time of the Empire, the Universal Church was the sole legal religion and had a monopoly on the use of the Force. Until 10 BBY, Palpatine the Emperor was also Patriarch of the Church. In 10 BBY, he appointed Darth Vader, a member of the Temple Avesti order of Church monks and a superior user of the Force, as Church Patriarch. Light sabres were used as weapons by monks of the Church's Temple Avesti and Brother Battle orders. The Universal Church regards the Force as a gift of the Pancreator, and viewed the secular use of Force powers as heresy since 7,000 BBY, and in 6110 BBY proclaimed the sentence of automatic excommunication on any Church member (priest, monk, or lay member) who joined the Jedi order. A splinter sect from the Universal Church of the Celestial Sun, the Incarnates, was formed in 6999 BBY with the same belief in the Pancreator as the mother Church, but was more tolerant of the Jedi. From 19 BBY, the Universal Church had a legal monopoly on organized religion and the use of the Force, as well as being the state religion of the Empire. In 6 ABY, the Interim Imperial Council legalized religions outside the Universal Church, but the Church retained it's legal monopoly on use of the Force and it's status os the official Imperial faith.